Chapter 4 - The Man Who Should Have Been Dead
The enemy knew my bodyguard better than I did.
Giovanni Moretti should have been dead.
I had seen the photographs.
I had heard the autopsy details.
My father had told me personally that Moretti had been buried in Naples.
Yet here he stood.
Older.
Thinner.
Alive.
And smiling.
“Surprised?” he asked.
I raised my weapon.
“Not particularly.”
“Liar.”
I fired.
Giovanni moved.
Julian shoved him aside.
The bullet struck the wall.
“Matteo!”
Julian grabbed my wrist.
“He wants you alive.”
Giovanni laughed.
“Finally, the boy listens.”
I stared at him.
“What do you want?”
“Your father wanted everything.”
Giovanni pointed toward the cabinets.
“The money. The city. The judges. The police.”
His smile disappeared.
“I only wanted revenge.”
Emma stepped forward.
“You killed my husband.”
Giovanni looked at her.
“No.”
He nodded toward Julian.
“He did.”
Emma turned.
Julian's face changed.
“That's not what happened.”
Giovanni smiled.
“Tell her.”
Silence.
“Tell her what happened thirteen years ago.”
Julian lowered his gun.
I stepped closer.
“Talk.”
Julian closed his eyes.
“I found Daniel after your father ordered me to kill him.”
Emma's breathing became shallow.
“He was hiding in a church.”
Julian continued.
“He had the ledger.”
“What happened?”
“I told him to run.”
Emma whispered,
“And you followed him.”
“Yes.”
“You shot him.”
“No.”
Giovanni spoke.
“I did.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Giovanni continued.
“Daniel was loyal to your father until he realized what your father planned.”
“What did he plan?”
Giovanni smiled.
“To erase everyone who knew the truth.”
My heart pounded.
“Who is everyone?”
“Daniel. Emma. Lily.”
He paused.
“And you.”
I pointed my gun at him.
“You're lying.”
“Maybe.”
He stepped closer.
“But you should ask yourself one question.”
“What?”
“Why did your father leave Julian alive?”
I looked at Julian.
Giovanni's smile returned.
“Because Julian wasn't his servant.”
I waited.
“He was his insurance policy.”
Julian's face hardened.
“Enough.”
Giovanni turned to him.
“You've been protecting Matteo for thirteen years.”
He laughed softly.
“Did you ever tell him why?”
Julian didn't answer.
I looked between them.
“Why?”
Julian finally spoke.
“Because your father ordered me to.”
My pulse slowed.
“What?”
“He told me if anything happened to you, everything would collapse.”
Giovanni shook his head.
“No.”
He looked directly at me.
“Your father didn't want Julian to protect you.”
“He wanted Julian to control you.”
The room felt suddenly freezing.
I remembered every time Julian had stopped me.
Every deal he had blocked.
Every woman he had warned me away from.
Every enemy he had identified.
Every decision I thought had been mine.
“How long?”
I asked.
“How long have you been controlling my life?”
Julian stared at me.
“I stopped obeying him nine years ago.”
“Why?”
His eyes moved toward Lily.
“Because I met Daniel's daughter.”
Lily looked up.
“Me?”
Julian nodded.
“You were three.”
Emma stared at him.
“What are you saying?”
Julian looked at her.
“Daniel gave me the key before he died.”
Emma's face crumpled.
“He told me to protect you.”
Giovanni laughed.
“You were supposed to kill them.”
“I know.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
Giovanni's smile vanished.
“And that is why you owe me.”
He pulled a remote from his pocket.
Pressed a button.
Every light in the basement changed.
A screen descended from the ceiling.
A video began.
Daniel Harper appeared on screen.
Alive.
Emma screamed.
“No.”
Daniel stared directly into the camera.
“If you're watching this, I'm already dead.”
He paused.
“I left the key with the only man your family would never suspect.”
Julian stared at the screen.
Daniel continued.
“Matteo Valenti.”
My own face appeared beside Daniel's.
Then Daniel said something that made the room go silent.
“The person trying to kill you is not Giovanni Moretti.”
The video flickered.
Daniel leaned closer.
“He's closer.”
The screen went black.
Then a second video loaded.
A man walked into view.
He smiled.
I knew him.
Everyone in the room knew him.
Julian whispered one word.
“No.”
I felt the world tilt.
The man on the screen was my older brother.
May you like
Lucian Valenti.
Dead for seven years.
